Benedict, Isaac Hoyt

ID
0222
Nationality
American
Occupation
Deaf activist
Balloon passenger
Summary
Born deaf in New York City; graduated from the New York School for the Deaf, taught there 1846-65; bookkeeper in U.S. Treasury Dept., Washington, DC, 1865-1900. Almost certainly the first deaf person to fly, when he made a balloon flight in 1855; became an acknowledged linguist, knowing about 7 languages. Assisted in founding the Silent Mission, Calvary Baptist Church, Washington, DC.
References
Notable Deaf Persons, p.193-195; The Frat, March 1946, p.3; American Annals of the Deaf, v.7, 1855, p.187-196.
Dates
23 January 1825-5 November 1915